Safety-box for milk-bottles.



G. S. MCNEIL. SAFETY BOX FOR MILK BOTTLES.

APFLICA'llUN IZLED Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

2 skiEETS $115211 waaess G. S. MONEIL.

SAFETY BOX FOR MILK BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.9.1913.

1,108,601. Patented Aug. 25, 1914 2 SHEETS-$112111 2 2 f rarll 64/3" we?as 5 e5 UNITED s ra'rns rx'riiiifrorrion GEORGE s. McNEIL, 0F NEWABK,New JERSEY, assi'enon TO census a. MCNEIL,

. f I a or new YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY-BOX FOB. MILK-BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters latent. Patentgd Aug, 25, 1914,

Application and September s, 1913. Serial so. eases.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE S. MGNEIL, acitizen of theUnited States, residing at Newark, New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements'in Safety- Boxes forMilk-Bottles, of which' the following is a clear, full, and exactdescrip tion. I i

The present invention relates to an improvement in safety boxes for milkbottles and the like and has for its object an improved construction forprotecting the con tents of the box against theft and unauthorizedhandling.

A further improved feature of the present construction lies in the factthat the key for opening the ,box and obtaining its contents may be amilk bottle either empty or full, thus causing the householder to insertwithin the box an empty bottle forebtaining the previously inserted fullbottle and facilitating the collection of empty bottles by themilkman.

In the presentembodiment, the box is made for, the particular use ofreceiving milk bottles, but it is obvious that boxescan be constructedon similar principles for various other articles which it may bedesirabl'e to deliver in some accessible place outside of the house. Thepresent safety box is also preferably mounted in an easily detachablemanner adj acentthe door of the house and locking means are provided forsecuring the box as a Whole against removal when said door is closed.

The particular features of a box illustrating one preferred embodimentof -my"invention will be clearly understood from the accompanyingdrawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the box; Fig. 2 avertical section of the same through line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing a milkbottle in different stages of its passage therein; Fig. 3 is a plan ofthe box partly in section, looking from above through line 5 5 or Fig.4; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through line '-i4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is adetail section of the upper end of the box showing the hinge of thelockable cover; and Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of the unlatehingdevices.

Relerring more particularly to the drawings, the box as a whole isindicated at 1. having four closed sides 1 and open through the top at15 to ,-rovide an outlet for a are mounted various locking and uniitching,

devices to be hereinafter descrihr The box 18 preferably fastened to theof a ,house 2 adjacent to a hinged dr 3, and

for this purpose has detachable fastening means consisting of plate a atitsupper end,

with slots 5 engaging bolts 6, and a tongue 7 at its lower end engagingbail 8. It will thusbe obvious that a vertical movement is required forremoving the box from its detachable fastenings. In order to preventthis vertical movement of the box at certain times, a locking device isprovided. This preferably consists as shown more particularly in Fig. 3of a bolt carrier 9 fastened to the house and having a sliding bolt 10therein with one end adapted to enter a recess-11 of the box 1, theother end protruding. so as to be engaged by the swinging door 3. "Aspring 13 normally tends to throw the bolt 10 outwardly so as to freethe box 1, but whenever the door 3 is closed as shown in Fig. 3, thebolt 10 engages recess 11 of box 1 and prevents its vertical movementforremoval.

The upper open end of the box 1 is provided with a lockable cover 16hinged at 17 as shown in Fig. 4. Spring 18 normally tends to throw thecover closed. into its locked position. Above the lockable cover may bea suitable protecting cover 12 if desired. The lockable cover 16 is heldlocked by locking means which in turn are controlled by unlatchin'devices. These unlocking means and un atohing devices are preferablyarranged upon each of the four sides of the box so that the cover islocked at four different places and can only be unloekedby the operationof four different unlatching devices. The number of the locking meansand unlatching devices is not important although it is apparent thatwith a plurality of such devices at difl'erent places in the box,greater diliiculty is presented in opening the box with anything exceptthe proper key, which is the bottle. As each one of the locking meansand nnlatc'hing devices similar in construction, a detail description ofone will sullice.

A staple 19 on the undersidepf cover 16 is arranged to be engaged by ahook 20. The hook 20 in turn may be the integral part of a longitudinalmember 21 extending from the upper to the lower end of the box andpivoted at 22 at one side of the box preferably in the corner as shownin Fig. 6 so' as to be out of the way of a round bottle passing into thebox. A spring 25 bearing against the member 21 normally presses hook 20forwardly so as to engage staple 19.

Extendingbeneath the lower end of member 21 is a transverse member 23pivoted at 24 to the side of the box. The other end of transverse member23 also extends beneath a catch member or spring- 26 fixed to the sideof a box so as to be engaged thereby when said spring 26 is depressed.The spring catch members 26 mounted adjacent the lower end of the boxextend inwardly and upwardly as shown, and are adapted to yieldsufiiciently to permit the passage of a bottle therethrough whereuponthey spring into place as shown in Fig. 2 for re taining the bottle inthe box. Similar catch members 28 are also preferably mounted at theupper end of the box and extend inwardly and upwardly so as to lieadjacent to the neck of an inserted bottle and engage theusual shoulderaround the mouth of the same when any attempt is made to remove thebottle downwardly through the open end of the box.

The'nse of a safety box iseflected as follows: Assuming first a fullbottle is in serted in the box so as to rest upon the catch members 26as shown in Fig. 2, the housemust insert another bottle through the openlower end of the box so as to push the first bottle out. The secondbottle as it enters the lowerend presses back the springs 26 which inturn actuate the unlatching members 23 and hook members 21 for releasingthe locked cover 16. This takes place before the first bottle hasreached the dotted line position in Fig. 2 so that by a continuousmovement the second bottle may be pushed in the box to expel the firstbottle. After the first bottle is withdrawn, the cover 16 drops backinto its locked position and the empty bottle can be .obtained by themilkman only by performing a similar opera; tion.

Although I have described and shown a specified modification of myinvention, it is obvious that further modifications and changes areincluded within the scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a swinging door of a milk bottlebox dctachably mounted adjacent thereto, means for locking said box inposition comprising a bolt recess in said keeper in order to obtain thisfull bottle box and a sliding bolt mounted in the path of said door soas to be thrust into said recess when said door is closed, and a springnormally tending to withdraw the bolt from its recess.

2. A safe for milk bottles and, the like comprising in combination, abox having a bo-ttle-receiving-space therein with an outlet opening fora bottle, amovable cover for said outlet opening, locking means for saidcover, and means operable by a bottle shaped. key for releasing saidcover from said loc'k ing means.

3. A safe for milk bottles and the like comprising in combination, a boxhaving a bottle-receiving-space therein with separate inlet and outletopenings for a bottle, a movable cover for said outlet opening, lockingmeans for said cover, and means operable by a bottle entering said inletopening for releasing said cover from said locking means.

fl. A safe for milk bottles and the like comprising in combination, abox having a bottle-receiving-space therein with separate inlet andoutlet openings for a bottle, a movable cover for said outlet opening,locking means for said cover, means mounted at the inlet opening forreleasing said cover from said locking means, and catch members forretaining a bottle within said box against movement toward said inletopening.

5. A safe for milk bottles and the like comprising in combination, a boxhaving a bottle-receiving-space therein with separate inlet and outletopenings for a bottle, a movable cover for said outlet opening, meansnormally tending to move said cover into closed position, locking mealsfor said cover, and means operable by a bottle entering the inletopening of said box for releasing said cover from said forking means.

6. A'sa fe for milk bottles and. the like comprising in combination, abox having a bottle-receiving-space therein with separate inlet andoutlet openings for a bottle, a movable cover for said outlet opening,locking means for said cover, and means mou'nte adjacent the inletopening for releasing said cover from said locking means comprising oneor more unlatching members movable in and out of said bottle receivingspace. 4

7. A safe for milk bottles and the like comprising in combination, a boxhaving a bottle-rcceiving-space therein with separate inlet and outletopenings for a bottle, a movable cover for said outlet opening, lockingmeans for said cover comprising one or more hook members, means forreleasing said cover from said locking means comprising one or morennlatching members movable in and out of said bottle-receivingspace andhaving connection with said hook members.

8. A safe for milk bottles and the like comprising in combination. a boxhaving a bottle-receiving-spacc therein, with separate inlet and outletopenings for a bottle, a movopening of said box, said unlatching memablecover for said outlet opening, means bers being movable in and out ofsaid botnormally tending to move said cover into tle-receivlng-space soas to be operated by a closed osition, hook members movably bottleenterin said box.

5 mounte on said box adapted to engage said Signed at ew York city this23 'dd'qy of 15 cover for locking the same, said hook mem- August 1913.

bm's having extensions located adjacent the GEORGE S. MGNEIL. inletopening of said box, unlatching mem- Witnesses: bers for disengagingsaid hook members FLORENCE Jaoxson,

10 from said cover mounted adjacent the inlet ABRAM Bmms'rsm.

